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The Waffen-SS ( German: [ˈvafn̩ʔɛsˌʔɛs]; Armed SS) was the combat branch of the Nazi Party's paramilitary Schutzstaffel (SS) organisation. Its formations included men from Nazi Germany, along with volunteers and conscripts from both occupied and unoccupied lands. [3] SS uniforms used a variety of insignia, the most standard of which were collar patches, to denote rank, and shoulder knots (which acted as shoulder boards), to denote both rank and position, along with sleeve cuff titles and "sleeve diamond" patches, to indicate membership in specific branches of the SS. The Leibstandarte continued the advance on 13 May. When the Reconnaissance Battalion under the command of Kurt Meyer came under heavy fire from the Greek Army defending the Klisura Pass, they broke through the defenders and captured 1,000 prisoners of war at the cost of only six dead and nine wounded. [72] The next day, Meyer captured Kastoria and took another 11,000 prisoners of war. By 20 May, the Leibstandarte had cut off the retreating Greek Army at Metsovon and accepted the surrender of the Greek Epirus-Macedonian Army. [72] As a reward, the Leibstandarte was nominally redesignated as a full motorised division, although few additional elements had been added by the start of the Soviet campaign and the "division" remained effectively a reinforced brigade.
Ailsby, Christopher (2004). Hitler's Renegades: Foreign Nationals in the Service of the Third Reich. Brasseys. ISBN 1-57488-838-2. Sydnor, Charles W. Jr. (1973). "The History of the SS Totenkopfdivision and the Postwar Mythology of the Waffen SS". Central European History. Cambridge University Press. 6 (4): 339–362. doi: 10.1017/S0008938900000960. S2CID 144835004. Overmans, Rűdiger (2000). Deutsche militärische Verluste im Zweiten Weltkrieg (in German). Munich: Oldenbourg. ISBN 3-486-56531-1. At the same time, Himmler was one of the primary behind-the-scenes forces in the removal from power of Ernst Röhm (1887-1934), head of the SA. On June 30, 1934, during a purge of major SA officials that came to be known as the “Night of the Long Knives,” Röhm was arrested. He was executed several days later. The elimination of Röhm further increased Himmler’s proThe most significant rank change was the creation of an actual rank of Reichsführer-SS to denote the commander of the SS. The new rank was the equivalent of a field marshal in the army. [16] Prior to 1934, Himmler had been regarded simply as an SS-Obergruppenführer. Reichsführer was merely a title and not a rank prior to 1934, though Himmler preferred to use his title more than his rank. [16] In addition to Himmler’s new rank, several of the original SS rank titles were renamed (although retained the same insignia), bringing about the final nomenclature of SS ranks which would be used until the SS was disbanded at the end of World War II.
Recruiting ethnic Germans from other countries began in April 1940, and units consisting of non-Germanic recruits were formed beginning in 1942. [36] Non-Germanic units were not considered to be part of the SS, which still maintained its racial criteria, but rather were considered to be foreign nationals serving under the command of the SS. [37] As a general rule, an "SS Division" was made up of Germans or other Germanic peoples, while a "Division of the SS" was made up of non-Germanic volunteers and conscripts. [38] World War II [ edit ] 1939 [ edit ] Invasion of Poland [ edit ] Members of the Einsatzgruppen murdering Polish civilians in Kórnik shortly after the outbreak of World War II in Europe hihamerkit ja anarkistiliput vilahtelivat Helsingissä, kun tuhannet marssivat itsenäisyyspäivän mielenosoituksissa – Poliisi otti kiinni 13 ihmistä". Helsingin Sanomat. 7 October 2020. On 19 July 1940, Hitler gave a speech to the Reichstag, where he gave a summary of the western campaign and praised the German forces involved. He used the term " Waffen-SS" when describing the units of the LSSAH and SS-VT that took part. From that day forward, the term Waffen-SS became the official designation for the SS combat formations. [63] Himmler gained approval for the Waffen-SS to form its own high command, the Kommandoamt der Waffen-SS within the SS Führungshauptamt, which was created in August 1940. [64] It received command of the SS-VT (the Leibstandarte and the Verfügungs-Division, renamed Reich) and the armed SS-TV regiments (the Totenkopf Division together with several independent Totenkopf-Standarten). [65]Staff (24 May 1945). "Heinrich Himmler Kills Himself in British Prison". Bend Bulletin . Retrieved 4 March 2016. Always in touch with its Nazi past, HIAG was a subject of significant controversy, both in West Germany and abroad, since its founding. [215] [201] The organisation drifted into right-wing extremism in its later history. It was disbanded in 1992 at the federal level, but local groups, along with the organisation's monthly periodical, continued to exist at least into the 2000s. [225] [226]
In September 1934, Hitler authorised the formation of the paramilitary wing of the Nazi Party and approved the formation of the SS-Verfügungstruppe (SS-VT), a special service troop under Hitler's overall command. [18] The SS-VT had to depend on the German Army for its supply of weapons and military training, and its local draft boards responsible for assigning conscripts to the different branches of the Wehrmacht to meet quotas set by the German High Command ( Oberkommando der Wehrmacht or OKW in German); the SS was given the lowest priority for recruits. [22] Tessin, Georg (1966). Verbände und Truppen der deutschen Wehrmacht und Waffen SS im Zweiten Weltkrieg 1939–1945: Die Landstreitkräfte 1–5 (in German). Vol.2. Frankfurt am Main: Mittler.Laqueur, Walter; Baumel, Judith Tydor (2001). The Holocaust Encyclopedia. New Haven; London: Yale University Press. ISBN 978-0-30008-432-0. Reynolds, Michael (1997). Steel Inferno: I SS Panzer Corps in Normandy. Spellmount. ISBN 1-873376-90-1. for members of the Deutschland regiment, 2 for Germania personnel, and (from 1938) 3 for members of the Der Führer regiment. These insignia would survive throughout World War II and were kept in use after the three original regiments had expanded to full-sized military regimental strength in the war-time "Das Reich" 2nd Waffen-SS division, roughly equivalent in size to their German Army counterparts. Jewish Uprisings in Ghettos and Camps, 1941–1944: Resistance in Ghettos". United States Holocaust Memorial Museum . Retrieved 28 May 2013. Cook, Stan; Bender, Roger James (1994). Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler: Uniforms, Organization, & History. San Jose, CA: R. James Bender. ISBN 978-0-912138-55-8.
On 26 May, the German advance resumed. On 27 May, the Deutschland Regiment of the SS-VT Division reached the Allied defensive line on the Leie River at Merville. They forced a bridgehead across the river and waited for the SS Totenkopf Division to arrive to cover their flank. What arrived first was a unit of British tanks, which penetrated their position. The SS-VT managed to hold on against the British tank force, which got to within 15 feet of commander Felix Steiner's position. Only the arrival of the Totenkopf Panzerjäger platoon saved the Deutschland Regiment from being destroyed and their bridgehead lost. [57] Weale, Adrian (2012). Army of Evil: A History of the SS. New York: Caliber Printing. ISBN 978-0-451-23791-0. The Warsaw Ghetto Uprising was a Jewish insurgency that arose within the Warsaw Ghetto from 19 April to 16 May, an effort to prevent the transportation of the remaining population of the ghetto to Treblinka extermination camp. Units involved from the Waffen-SS were 821 Waffen-SS Panzergrenadiers from five reserve and training battalions and one cavalry reserve and training battalion. [97] [98] Kursk [ edit ] Photo taken by the Polish Underground showing the bodies of women and children murdered by SS troops during the Warsaw Uprising, August 1944 Schramm, Percy E. (1982). Kriegstagebuch des Oberkommandos der Wehrmacht 1944–1945 Teilband II (in German). Herrsching: Manfred Pawlak.
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SS-Unterführer: This term designated non-commissioned officers in the SS. An enlisted SS soldier, applying for non-commissioned officer status, was often known as an Unterführer-Anwärter. In 1990, Latvian Legion veterans started commemorating Legionnaire Day (Leģionāru diena) in Latvia. On 21 February 2012, The Council of Europe's Commission against Racism and Intolerance published its report on Latvia (fourth monitoring cycle), in which it condemned commemorations of persons who fought in the Waffen-SS. [206] Vahtla, Aili, ed. (31 July 2018). "Politicians condemn Russian Embassy criticism of tribute to WWII battle". Eesti Rahvusringhääling . Retrieved 18 December 2019. Stefan Baretzki (right), a Waffen-SS soldier, participating in a selection at Auschwitz concentration camp
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